WowWee Robotics and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, are co-developing the Elmoji Coding Robot. Designed for children three years and older, Elmoji teaches children basic programming skills using the "language" of visual emojis.

The international CES 2017 will include delegations from several countries that have recently developed national strategies for robotics and AI. Does this indicate a more direct role for government in industry?

Robot interfaces, particularly for machines in customer-service roles, will increasingly be identified with certain brands. Robotics makers and end user organizations should keep intellectual property protection in mind.